Letter: The woes of a 'Loyal Customer'

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The woes of a Loyal Customer

After many years of living in mega-metropolis areas, it seemed great to move to a small town and receive personal attention from businesses. I received a nice letter from the company that provides my television programming, saying that for being such a “Loyal Customer,” they were going to give me a $30 per month discount on my bundle service bill. I felt great. I would now pay $113 instead of $143 (round numbers) for our bundle package. A week or so later, I got a new bill for $209 minus $30, for a total due of $179.

I called the service department and said, “I’m one of your Loyal Customers, and I don’t understand what is going on,” and I related the above story.

She said “Oh, you were on a two-year contract and it just expired, so you now pay the standard price minus the $30 and you are now on the month-to-month plan.” I said, “I still don’t understand. You have ads in the newspaper and on TV that say the bundle package is $90 (3 x $29.99 / segment). How do you get to $209?”

She said, “ Can I transfer you to our cancellation department?

Now that’s what I like about the good-neighbor atmosphere here: fast, direct answers that don’t leave you hanging. I guess there is one thing I have learned: If you become a Loyal Customer, beware of the benefits!